Vengeful Glare
by Arkham Crusader
Summary: Batman comes face to face with Joker for the first time since Jason Todd's death, reluctantly accepting help from Batgirl


p dir="ltr"Batman and Batgirl. It didn't have a great ring to it, Barbara caught herself thinking. br / It had been with great reluctance that Batman agreed to take on another partner. Since Jason...br /Barbara knew that Batman needed a partner though. Batman knew it too. If Batman got a hold of Joker with nobody there to hold him back...they'd be one and the same, they knew./p  
p dir="ltr"They'd spent a year trying to track down Joker. He was there for the thrill of the chase now. No point to prove, no targets to kill...just the thrill.../p  
p dir="ltr"And now the chase was over. Joker was down there, strolling along the catwalk of Ace chemicals, twirling his knives as his thugs raided the safes. br /"Quickly now! Hurry! I'm sure Batsy is on his way, and I'm not really dressed for that kind of a reunion. I don't have my lucky crowbar...HEHEHEHEAHAHAHAHA!" br / br /Batgirl hadn't come face to face with Joker yet. She knew him by reputation only. He didn't know her yet either, but she was ready to introduce him to her boot. br / Batman's eye was difficult to read anymore. br / br /Batgirl herself usually liked to think through every bit of logic, but lately, Batman's emotions were...distracting. Conflicting even. He insisted on doing things by the book, but Batgirl knew vengeance when she saw it in his eyes. And she was getting a load of it now./p  
p dir="ltr"She looked to Batman across the ceiling, looking back at her from his vantage point. He held up 2 fingers, which meant "Follow me."/p  
p dir="ltr"He quickly swung to a vantage point to his left. Batgirl mirrored him exactly. He gave a small nod of approval in the fact that she could take directions. Batman couldn't stress enough how important that was to making sure that Jason Todd would never be repeated./p  
p dir="ltr"br /Batman glanced down at a couple of thugs, and made an "L" shape with his fingers./p  
p dir="ltr""Batgirl, take the one on the left." Barbara translated in her head. She nodded, and glided down, missing the walkway on purpose. She grabbed onto the bottom of it, and flung herself up, firmly planting her heels in her Target's skull, at the same time as Batman swooped down and dragged the other thug into the shadowed rafters./p  
p dir="ltr" Not a single scream./p  
p dir="ltr" Batgirl ducked behind a corner, surveying the area up ahead. If she could roll far enough, she could get to a better attack position to take care of the next 3 in no time./p  
p dir="ltr" "So, the vigilante role is gender neutral now I suppose? Hahaha!" She heard a voice cackle./p  
p dir="ltr""Damnit, Barb," she thought. "You forgot to look behind you./p  
p dir="ltr"Batgirl didn't know where Batman was anymore, or if he knew Joker had her. He seemed to have prioritized taking out these goons so he could have some alone time with the Clown Prince./p  
p dir="ltr" Joker slipped a gun against her head as he dragged Batgirl beside him into the office./p  
p dir="ltr" "My, Bats...only a year and you've gone ahead and transitioned. You look good. I'm proud! But when I said I wanted to know who you really are, I meant your name...which is...?" Joker waited./p  
p dir="ltr" "Nightmare. First name 'Worst'." Batgirl feigned confidence./p  
p dir="ltr" Joker roared with laughter. br /"That's it, Barbara. Keep him laughing." She mused. "Won't be long before Batman takes out the rest of the creeps and takes out this one all the same."/p  
p dir="ltr"Batgirl had heard Joker was smart but she wasn't convinced. After all, he turned his back to the window. Too interested in the appearance of a Batgirl go care about the goings on outside, Barbara figured./p  
p dir="ltr"Barbara tried her best to conceal her glance as her eyes peered past the Joker into the factory room. Looks like all the thugs were down...but Joker laughed on./p  
p dir="ltr"Suddenly, a large figure envelopes the room with the shattering of glass, and next thing Barbara knew, Joker scooped her up and held the gun to her head, as Batman stood before them./p  
p dir="ltr""Bats...when will you listen to me? Don't keep a pet..if you can't take good care of it...Ha!" Joker buzzed./p  
p dir="ltr"Batgirl looked into Batman's eyes again, wanting to ask "What's the plan?", with her eyes.../p  
p dir="ltr"And she saw that same hate. Those hate filled eyes looked on Joker now... but then they briefly glanced down...at his hand./p  
p dir="ltr"Batgirl looked to his hand. 3 fingers, pointing down. She translated in her head again. "Drop in 3 seconds." She winked./p  
p dir="ltr"3...2...1...Now!/p  
p dir="ltr" Batgirl quickly ducked down and hit Joker's leg, and in an instant, the figure of the Batman overtook Joker, and they launched over a desk and into the wall./p  
p dir="ltr"Joker reached to get his gun back, but Batman took a pen and jabbed it into Joker's wrist./p  
p dir="ltr""AHH! HAHAHAHAHAHAAA! Is the pen mightier than the batarang now?" Joker giggled, still wincing in pain./p  
p dir="ltr""Either one can cut your throat." Batman growled coldly as he took a batarang from his belt and held it against Joker's throat./p  
p dir="ltr""You're...Robin...me of a victory, Bats..." Joker smiled./p  
p dir="ltr"br /"Batman, don't!" Batgirl called out./p  
p dir="ltr"Batman didn't move the batarang...but it was sinking deeper into Joker's neck.../p  
p dir="ltr""It's what he wants." Batgirl reminded him./p  
p dir="ltr""What the hell? I'm still holding out for that pony I asked Santa for!" Joker laughed. /p  
p dir="ltr" "Justice...not vengeance..." Batgirl and Batman said together./p  
p dir="ltr" /p  
p dir="ltr"As Jim Gordon put Joker in the back of the car, Batgirl kept her back turned to him. "Thank you, Batgirl. I hope to see more of you out there." Jim said warmly. /p  
p dir="ltr"Barbara smirked. "No problem commissioner. See you soon."/p  
p dir="ltr"With that, her and Batman vanished into the night. /p  
p dir="ltr"Justice. Not vengeance. /p 


End file.
